I'm So Glad We Made Us A Thing
by stuckinwonderland420
Summary: "I'm so glad we made us a thing," he whispered. "A thing". Yes, "a thing", indeed...that was one way to put it. Bickering constantly, random sweet gestures, painful fights, tender makeups..."a thing" was the only way to describe the simple, complex object that was their relationship.
1. Prologue

**EDIT: This is the official first chapter of our new story with an old title, "I'm So Glad We Made Us A Thing". A year later, the second chapter was written and so we decided to post the two as their own story. This chapter is total trash (in my opinion as one of the two authors) and has not been edited in a year for times sake. Nonetheless, we hope you enjoy both chapters! Chapter two is own of my personal favorite writing pieces ever so please make it through to read that, and check out our other baby "HEEN HIGHENS". Happy reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Past midnight, stars unobscured by clouds cast ghostly light on the purple hair of a restless girl, pacing her bedroom floor. What had awaken her...she wasn't positive; a wisp of a nightmare and a tingling sense of foreboding were all that remained and yet she couldn't seem to find sleep. Clearing her weary mind seemed impossible, by any means. She rubbed her eyes drowsily, arranged her legs in a sloppy half-lotus, and pulled up her hood. Still, she couldn't meditate. Couldn't calm herself. Something was in the warm night air that made her feel uneasy.

* * *

Needless to say, the next morning Raven's attitude was even colder and more waspish than usual, contrasting the sticky July morning. As she swept into the common room, the chatter of the Titans slowly halted. After living together for years, they could usually sense when it was not a good day for her. Raven slammed her mug of tea down on the table and a hairline fracture split the lip on the top. She growled. The pot on the stove boiled over. *Deep breath.*

Though she was staring at the delicate fracture in the sturdy mug, she was aware of the silent conversation just out of her line of sight. The eye movement and shoulder jerks lead to: "Umm, Rae, you okay?"

A snarky reply fought its way to the tip of her tongue but she bit it back, sparing the only person who had the nerve to call her "Rae". Considering the nightmares, and her sheer tiredness, it just wasn't worth the effort. "Yes," She paused and kneaded her eyes . "Though if for just once you could say my whole name, that'd,-"

She froze and her mug crashed to the floor, shattering in a startling beautiful way. Standing in front of the couch, positioned so only Raven would be able to see her, was a woman. Her long dark hair was ragged and her eyes wild and scared. Raven had seen that look before: it was the look of a cornered animal. The woman motioned in a frantic and secretive way. Her eyes locked with Raven's but periodically darted from side to side. Raven's mouth fell open before she could stop it. "Mom?" she whispered.

"Umm, Rae? I'm not your mom." Raven snapped back to Beast Boy. "What? I know."

She scowled and pushed up from the table, deftly avoiding the chipped ceramic.

"I told you she didn't want to talk to me!" Beast Boy shouted as soon the other Titans thought she was out of hearing range.

Her thoughts, usually so collected, were now scattered and unclear. Mediating only aided in plunging her into a world of confusion. She was too easily distracted. *What's wrong with Mom?* *More importantly, what's wrong with /me/* she thought, but guilt washed over her at her self-preserving thoughts. Her relationship with her mother had never been the greatest. Most times it had been a selfish, symbiotic, relationship, depending on each other to stay alive, to keep the evils at bay.

But good memories /did/ surface. Her mother brushing and plaiting her hair and singing. Reading fairy tails- not the dark azarathian ones, real ones. Ones with happy endings and princes and happily-ever-afters.

And those were the ones that kept her mind on the relentless thoughts that begged her to figure out what seemed to be tormenting her mother.

A logical thought rose to the front of her now conflicted mind. It chided her, telling her that this was a hallucination, a figment of her imagination. A creation of a poisoned mind. She groaned in frustration and rubbed her temples. She threw herself on her bed and the lightbulb above cracked. Forcing herself upright, she crossed her legs and regulated her breathing. /azarath metrion zinthos/.

Someone knocked on the door and her eyes flew open.

"Raven?" Starfire's tentative voice made its way through the door. Raven relaxed at the familiar, if over-enthusiastic voice, though she hadn't realized she tensed in the first place. It wasn't surprising with the appearance of her mom. She glanced around her room warily, and shivered. Raven slowly uncrossed her legs and moved to open the door. Starfire stood a polite distance from the door but Raven still hung a foot or two back in the shadows of her room.

"Raven," began Starfire. "At breakfast, it seems, you were not your usual self,"

Starfire's eyebrows were furrowed. Raven felt her hands clench around the fabric of his cloak. Her fingernails cut crescents into her palms through the fabric.

"Sorry not to be my usual perky self. I'm tired," she stated shortly and reached up to slide the door heavy shut.

"Wait!"

Raven raised one eyebrow irritatedly. Her head was beginning to ache and her vision was going fuzzy around the edges. Another vision or outburst around the others would not bode well for her reputation as the sane one. The headache began to pulse its way to the front of her head.

"What?" Raven winced.

"Please, I am sorry Raven, are you quite sure you're okay? You seem to be in pain and- Raven?" Standing behind Starfire was the same ragged hallucination of her mother. Raven began to tremble and her knees buckled, the last thing she felt was Starfire's arms holding her up and the sound of worried shouting.

All around Raven were familiar faces. Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Robin. They all wore looks of immense worry. It was highly unusual that Raven, of all the Titans, collapsed in the hallway.

* * *

"You okay, Rae?" Beast Boy asked, his voice sounding as if he were speaking through water.

Raven tried to give an irritated response, but her mouth felt as if it were stuffed with cotton balls. She shot him a glare instead.

"Raven, what's been going on? You seem out of it." Robin's forehead wrinkled into a concerned crease.

Raven shook her throbbing head. *I'm fine* She tried to sit up on the hard, cold, surface she was laid upon, but Starfire gently pushed her back down. "Rest, friend."

Raven struggled against her friend's grasp. *I'm fine!* she tried to say, but no sound came out her dry mouth.

She thrashed on the table, but Starfire's strong yet frail arms held her firmly in place.

"Now, now, Raven. There's no need to struggle." Cyborg's usually kind face was twisted into a sneer as he assisted Starfire in pinning her down. "You're safe with us."

A cold feeling seeped its way to Raven's toes. She was NOT safe, and these weren't her friends. She struggled against the iron grip holding her down, but it only strengthened. Robin joined in pinning her down on the cold surface, and Raven felt hot tears streak her marble cheeks as she opened her cracked lips into a silent scream. "There's no need for that." The voices unified, as her "friends" faces twisted into grotesque smiles.

"Don't you get it?" Beast Boy seemed to say. "There's no escape. I am everywhere." The voice seemed coldly familiar to Raven, but before she could place it, Beast Boy's tiny fingers closed around her throat, crushing all remaining life from her flickering soul. With one final tear, all went black.

* * *

Raven awoke for real this time, screaming. She didn't care who heard her, or what happened. She needed to let loose a sound painful and pure: cold and true terror.

She was in the infirmary, a place that usually held comfort in its formality, but now made her toes curl with fear.

Someone was sitting next to her bed, watching over her. Before she could get a look at her guardian, Raven felt hands on her again. The fear immediately set in again and she thrashed and shrieked, trying to get them off.

"Rae. Rae!" Beast Boy shouted her name, trying to be heard over the deafening screams. "Rae!"

Raven struggled against his strong hands, despite the small size. He had yet to transform, not wanting to harm or further upset her, but logical thoughts like those were lost to her. She kicked and struggled and screamed.

"Rae!" Beast Boy shook her slightly, trying to clear the fog in her violet eyes. "Raven!"

At the sound of her actual name, Raven slowed. "Raven." He said again. "Please snap out of it!"

Tears were starting to form in his eyes at the sight of Raven, the most controlled person he knew, tortured like this.

Seeing the tears in his green eyes, Raven stopped. "Beast Boy?" She hoarsely whispered.

"Yeah Raven?"

They locked eyes. He didn't dare say a word. All of a sudden, Raven collapsed into tears, grasping him tightly. Surprised at her sudden affection, he cautiously wrapped her in his arms. "I-it's okay. It'll be okay."

She sobbed as he stayed there, gently murmuring words of comfort.

As her sobs slowly turned into awkward hiccups, the sun was lazily setting, casting orange shadows in the room.

"Beast Boy?" Raven quietly asked, into his tear-stained shirt.

"Yeah Rae?"

"If you tell anyone about this I will kill you."

He didn't even bat an eyelash at the threat. "Okay, Raven. Okay."

* * *

Raven wiped hot tears away as she awoke from a vivid nightmare. A knock sounded at her door and cut through the thick and unnerving silence.

"Are you sure you're-"

Raven cracked her door open and silenced the repeating offender with a glare. He had been periodically checking up on her every since her freak-out that afternoon.

Beast Boy smiled cheekily. "The other Titans are eating breakfast if you're up to it."

"Of course I am," she snapped, not liking that the conversation was spotlighted on her , "It's not as if I've been wounded I just-" she cut herself off, taking a deep breathe. "I'm fine."

He raised a single eyebrow, "Alright, just making sure."

Raven swung her door open in a clean arc, nearly taking Best Boy's nose off. As they walked closer to the main room, it occurred to her that he had been the only one there. She swallowed. Why had that been? Her mind quickly wandered back to the warped visions of her mother and the nightmares that had plagued her. She nearly tripped, snapping out of her thoughts as Beast Boy came to a sudden halt at the doors to the living room, but he steadied her and she looked down. The doors in front of them slid open smoothly.

Sitting, eating breakfast, as Beast Boy had said they'd be, were the rest of the Titans. They all looked up and she was greeted by a chorus of "Raven!"s.

She made her way to the table and sat down in her usual spot next to Starfire.

"Friend Raven, I am very happy that you are feeling okay!" Starfire smiled and looked as though she wanted to hug Raven- though she refrained from doing so.

"Yeah, Raven, you gave us a bit of a scare," said Robin from his place at the stove cooking pancakes.

"Mm. I'm fine, I've just not been sleeping well. I apologize for the inconvenience," she said, accepting a plate.

"There's no need to apologize, we're just all glad you're alright," said Cyborg, giving her shoulder a small squeeze.

Beast Boy made a noise of agreement from his spot at the end of the table and gave her a small smile. The conversation strayed and Raven found her self lost in her troubled thoughts again. She stayed quiet, though no one seemed to notice. This was normal behavior for her. It would have been unusual for her to make conversation or force a smile (she recalled a previous experience). But sitting quietly, none of them would notice the turmoil running through her head.

She felt a prickle on the back of her neck, the kind that seem to show up when someone is watching you. Oh Azar, she thought, not another appearance now, not when they're all sure I'm back to normal. When she looked up, however there was no specter, just Beast Boy, staring quietly at her. He wasn't participating in the conversation as usual, making a stupid joke or yelling some obnoxious comment. When he noticed her looking he whipped his head around and joined the conversation. /He's acting weird today, she thought. /You're one to talk, a voice in her head japed. She ignored it and stood up.

"I'm going to meditate," she unexpectedly announced and swept back to her room. The rest of the Titans watched, taken aback.

* * *

Raven shut the door to her room and sank into her bed. Collecting her thoughts, she crossed her legs and began to think. She hadn't seen her mother in years, since before she had come to Earth and joined the titans. It was shocking and unsettling- to say the least- to see the woman after so long and in such a state. Ravenfs memory of her mother had begun to fade months ago, but the little memory she did have left was of a regal and confident and erratic young woman. Not exactly the model mother figure, not someone who had been there in trying times, but someone who might have understood her pain nonetheless. Outcasts in Azar together. The bedraggled vision of her that Raven had seen was not that memory, but unmistakingly her. There was only one reason for her to be like that- to look like that. Shefd known that Raven was leaving, had helped her make her escape. In the end, as Raven had been about to leave, she'd clutched desperately on to Raven's wrist and threatened that she would never forgive Raven for leaving her. Raven had sadly brushed her off and stepped away, her mother's moods changed rapidly and frequently. This was an unsurprising development. Despite her snap changes, Raven's mother always kept her word. If she was trying to contact Raven, it was because she feared for her own well being and no other reason. There was only one being Raven could imagine that could threaten the life of her mother: Trigon.

The name sent shivers down Ravenfs spine, that she tried her best to suppress. The logical part of her mind argued that he was gone. She herself had defeated him; she remembered the battle all too well. So how, how, could he be back? Raven let out a deep and resonant sigh and heard a cracking noise from her windowsill. A cue to meditate. She took a breath and began to levitate, floating an half foot or so above her bed. Closing her eyes, she chanted the three words that had been pounded into her brain as soon as she was old enough to talk. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos.

Raven's soulself touched down gently in the barren landscape of her mind. Immediately she knew something was wrong. Whirling around she saw Trigon, standing taller than mountains and redder than the pits of hell. She slid her right leg back and tensed, assuming a fighting position.

"What do you want with me?" she yelled. "I defeated you! What have you done with my mother?"

A rumbling, emotionless laugh escaped the vast demon. "Where is your mother? Ifm quite sure I do not know, daughter."The term was affectionless. "Is a visit from your father not good enough?"

Raven nearly screamed in anger. A small part of her cautioned her that emotions, even here, would have effects on the real world too. She ignored it.

"Answer me!" she screamed. "I know you have her!"

Raven felt dark energy consume her fists, encase her body, and clutch her heart. She continued to ignore the persistent part of her that advised her against showing any emotion. Suddenly all that mattered was this.

"I haven't seen Arella in years, child." Cold laughter filled his voice, as if her petty anger amused him.

Raven screamed, rising up to attack him in a battle cry. She saw in his monstrous hands, a weeping wraith of her mother. As she swooped to grab the woman, she was dragged back to reality, unsure if by a flying object or her own tortured wail.

* * *

Raven sat up and looked around her room. Books were strewn about her room, furniture overturned, glass and lights cracked. Nowadays it was rare that she lost control, but when she did she was glad for her soundproofed room. She slowly stood from her bed. Her mind ached the way joints do after battle, and her cheeks were wet with tears. She fiercely wiped the drops away, shocked and angry with herself for crying for the second time within twentyfour hours. She slowly began to piece her room back together, beginning with righting the furniture. She did it by hand, not trusting her powers so soon after such an incident and was holding a rather heavy stack eof books when a knock at the door startled her and the tower of books toppled. She heaved a sigh and composed her face to its usual neutral mask.

She slid the door open, and before she could get a word in-

"Yo, so Raven, I'm trying to play my new game but its two player and everyone else- hey did you know that your room is, like, really, really messy?"

"Is it, Beast Boy, is it? I hadn't noticed," she uttered wearily, and began to shut the door, not at all in the mood.

"Woah, woah, woah," Beast Boy shoved his foot in the door. "Hey, I'm sorry. Do you need some help?"

He knew that Raven wasn't the type to have a messy room and he had a sneaking suspicion of what had happened.

Raven opened the door a little and he pulled his foot back. It had hurt a bit more than he was willing to admit.

"Really?"

"Duh."

She shouldnft have been surprised. Meddling was Beast Boys personal specialty, but she was still secretly a bit flattered that cleaning her room won out over video games. She opened the door and he stepped in, closing it behind him. In the eerie lighting of her room, his face was distorted, like the Nightmare Beast Boy. She sucked in a quiet breath and flicked on the light that was rarely used, brushing a cobweb off the light switch.

"Dude, I didn't even know your room had a light," Beast Boy commented, picking up a book off the floor.

"Ha ha, very funny," Raven snapped, but a tiny smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she tried to push a armoire back into place, considering if using her powers was worth it. Beast Boy dropped a stack of books on her desk and dusted off his hands. He walked over and helped her to try to push it upright. Beast Boy let out a frustrated huff after minute of struggling with the heavy antique and shifted into a gorilla, which had no trouble putting the heavy furniture back into place.

"You know, Robin complains a lot about having no powers, but they really kinda suck," Beast Boy said suddenly, across the room from her.

Raven looked at him sidelong, furrowing her eyebrows. Where had that come from? "Eloquent, Beast Boy."

"I try."

* * *

By the next week, Ravenfs incident was mostly forgotten. Some sort of stronger bond had formed between her and Beast Boy after they had reset her room together. He was more respectful of her and she wouldnft snap at him for every little thing. It was odd, unexpected, and completely bewildering that anything could change with only those couple of hours. Here they were though, Raven absorbed in her book, Beast Boy making jokes and neither really all that on each otherfs nerves.

The rest of the Titans had seemingly come to the consensus that the best way to deal with the sudden truce was to make sly comments. Raven ignored them: it wasnft hard. Beast Boy would blush a little but dismiss it.

As happy as Raven was not to be bickering, her mind was now constantly focused on finding her mother. She spent copious hours in her room, nose buried in books, meditating, and even- in her darkest hour- looking to the magic Malchior had taught her, all in order to find her mother.

In another week, she was becoming more and more frantic. A layer of books covered her floor, hastily chalked pentagrams plastered her floor and walls, and her eyes and brain were completely exhausted.

The few hours she did spend with the other Titans were even more horrible than those spent in her room and she knew it was her fault. She snapped at them and small objects near her frequently imploded. Whatever small pocket of peace with Beast Boy she had found had been thinning over that week and finally ripped to shreds when she had made a particularly nasty comment to Starfire about her consuming of mustard and butchered vocabulary. Beast Boy had unnaturally calmly told Raven to stop, at which point she had rounded on him.

"You think you can tell me what to do?" She let out a mirthless laugh and her mug shattered. "That is hilarious. As if! Try as you might Beast Boy, but you will never be anything more than a small, annoying, pathetic little. . . " She couldn't seem to find a fitting word, an astounding feat for her. Seeing shocked looks all around, she stormed out of the room.

The Titans glanced at each other. Something was up. And one of them had to figure out what it was.

Raven sat at her desk. She buried her nose in a thick Latin volume printed in a minuscule type. After a moment of trying to concentrate, she gave up. The horrible, relentless feeling of guilt welled up in her stomach. Her insulting remarks to sweet Starfire and savage attack on Beast Boy ate away at get stomach. Just apologize, her mind reasoned, but she knew her pride would never allow it.

*It would be a waste of time,* she defended herself to her empty room. She stared shamefaced at her book and pages of endless notes and diagrams, trying to get up the courage to apologize. Fighting monsters and villains? Sure, no problem. Apologizing? Well, it wasn't one of her strong suits. They're your friends, Raven. They would understand if you apologized and explained why you're being like this. They would want you to tell them. . . right? They did last time. No, she stopped herself. This time is different.

She gathered enough courage to stand up and wade to her door through the sea of books, at least to apologize, if nothing else. As she was about to open her door, a knock sounded and she tripped backwards over a book in surprise. Struggling to her feet, she opened the door.

"Woah, your room is really, really, REALLY messy." Beast Boy smiled, holding out a hand to steady her. "Didn't I help you clean this up already?" he joked, stepping in around some books.

"I-" Raven stuttered. Who's eloquent now? she thought, not believing she had stuttered a reply. Her shoulders sagged. "I'm sorry."

Beast Boy sighed in response. 'I know. Honestly, I'm kinda surprised you're apologizing."

Raven glared, "What are you trying to say?"

"I was joking," he said hastily and leaned against her bed. "I know you're sorry- something's up with you lately- but maybe you should apologize to Star."

"I was about to," Raven said, defensive and jumpy and ready for the conversation to end.

"Okay here's the plan-"

"The plan?"

"The plan," said Beast Boy. "You go apologize and then we are going to leave and you are going to tell me what's happening with you."

"There's nothing-" began Raven firmly.

"Seriously, Rave" he rolled his eyes. "I'm not that stupid. You freaked out and passed out a couple of weeks ago, you were nice to me for like a week, and then you got more . . ." He made a weird, vague hand motion. "than usual, and your room is worse than mine lately."

"Fine," she relented. "Where, exactly, are the two of us going?"

He shrugged, "Pizza's always a good default."

"Wow. Be still my heart," Raven deadpanned, rolling her eyes and turning towards the door to find Starfire.

"Raven," Beast Boy mock gasped. "What are you suggesting?"

"I won't dignify that with a response," she called over her shoulder as she retreated down the corridor.

'You just did," he shouted after her, trying to zigzag his way out of her room to follow her.

* * *

Raven found Starfire still sitting at kitchen table. With only a small amount of difficulty, she apologized, though she had very little to worry about. Starfire had listened very seriously and nodded thoughtfully as Raven explained that she'd been stressed and tired. Raven apologized as profusely as she could allow herself to. Starfire hugged Raven tightly and smiled as she walked out the door, trying her best not to to grin too widely as Beast Boy fell into step beside her, bumping her shoulder slightly. Raven slapped him in response.

* * *

Raven and Beast Boy walked side by side to the pizza restaurant, as Cyborg never let either of them near the T-Car. They walked down the street and rounded the corner to the regular joint, neither saying much. Raven was still a bit nervous after apologizing. It was not something she did well and was reprimanding herself for the nervousness.

They arrived and sat at a booth in a corner, each ordering their own pizzas. A cheesy ballad playing in the background and Raven's muttered complaints about the quality of the restaurant's powdered ice tea was music to Beast Boy's ears.

As they began to eat, Beast Boy finally cut through the comfortable silence. "What is happening to you? I'm serious."

Raven looked up. He was. And when he was serious he was a completely different person.

"Well?" he prompted.

Raven opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Should she lie? Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton. Could she even lie?

As much as she wanted to open up, as much she wanted to tell someone...to tell him...she just couldn't. "It's none of your business." She stated coldly.

He stopped chewing. The song ended. The mood was broken.

"You may not think it is, Raven, but you're part of the team, and you owe it to the rest of us," he stated sharply.

She opened her mouth to say something but then something occurred to her.

"Us?" her eyebrows narrowed. "Ahh, I see. The rest of you are trying to figure out why Raven's gone off the deep end, huh?"

"Of course! We're worried about you. Like it or not, Raven, you're part of a team with friends that will back you up no matter what. But friends don't keep secrets."

Her eyes narrowed and she leaned up on her elbows. "Sometimes you have to. Sometimes it's to keep others safe."

"Maybe they can take of themselves. Maybe they can help keep you safe." He brought himself up to her level and glared at her.

"I don't need help! I can take care of myself!" She slapped her palms on the table, bringing herself up to full height and raising her voice.

"But you don't have to!" he cried, standing up. Although she was taller than him, his ferocity made up for the extra inches. "We can protect you Raven! I can protect you!"

She faltered at his words. Although the other Titans constantly put their lives on line the whenever they fought together, it was never as personal as it is now.

"Alright," she said softly, breathing in and out. Azarath Mentrion Zinthos. "I'll tell you. But can we please go somewhere else? We're causing a scene..."

He agreed, and hastily paid the tab. He didn't say a word as she silently lead him to a park. It was dark now, and lightning bugs flashed occasionally. Trees were silhouetted in silver moonlight. It was a beautiful night. Both sat on opposite sides of a great oak tree.

"It's my mom." Raven's serious voice cut through the sound of cicadas.

Beast Boy said nothing. He shouldn't have to push Raven to trust him.

Sensing this she added: "She's in trouble and I have to go save her." She swallowed thickly. The task seemed much more formidable when spoken aloud.

"I know if I say the Titans can help, you'll just push us away." Beast Boy said slowly. "So instead I'll offer my help instead. I'd be doing this because I want to, not because you asked me to. If something happens to me you will not be responsible."

Raven said nothing for awhile. "I-I couldn't ask you to do that..."

"You wouldn't have to. I'm telling you that I am going to help."

"This isn't your fight." She tried desperately to come up with a way to tell him no. She couldn't take anyone else getting hurt at her expense.

"I don't care." His voice was quiet. Controlled. Decisive.

Suddenly a thought struck her and she sat up straight. "Beast Boy, you can't tell them."

"What?" he asked, confused at her contrasted moods.

'You can't tell the rest of them. I should not have even told you." Her panic began to rise and she took a few calming breaths. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos.

"Why? They deserve to know too."

"No!" she said firmly. "This is about me and my mother. I have to do this. Alone. Please, Beast Boy, you have to lie."

". . . alright."

"Really?h"

"Yeah. Friends have to respect boundaries."

Raven's lips quirked a bit. "And when, pray tell, have you ever respected my boundaries?"

Heavy silence fell again, but this time it held a ring of comfort.

"I do when it counts." he said finally.

Raven smiled slightly. "Will you really lie for me, though?"

"Yeah, if you want me too. I get it."

"Thank you, Beast Boy."

* * *

As much as she enjoyed reading, (or as close to enjoyment as she could get) Beast Boy thought the amount of time she had been sitting in her room reading was borderline obsessive. He was worried about her, to be perfectly honest.

"Rae?" He asked, knocking on her door. "I think you should take a break from all those books. Do you want to play video games? Or some tea?"

She set down her book, scowling at the door. "Beast Boy, you know I'm busy...but some tea would be nice."

He smiled at the door, knowing she meant well. "One cup of tea coming right up!"

As the other Titans watched Beast Boy set a kettle on the stove to boil, they cast knowing glances at one another.

"So Beast Boy," Cyborg casually started, smirking slightly. "How's your girlfriend doing?"

Beast Boy whirled around. "She's not my girlfriend!"

The other Titans snickered at his red ears and heightened pitch.

"Whatever you say..."

"Robin, you should know better than to tease Raven like that."

"You seem to be awfully defensive about her." Robin retorted.

"J-just shut up!" Beast Boy fixed the Titans with a glare and grabbed the kettle off the stove, pouring it into a mug. Laughter followed him as he stalked down the hall to Raven's room.

"Raaaae. I got your teaaa."

Raven's door popped open. "Thanks." A half smile graced her lips as she took the mug. Neither moved.

"So how's it going?" Beast Boy finally asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

Raven's expression immediately clouded. There was no need to define "it".

"I'm close to finding her."

"Can I help?" Beast Boy asked, wanting to do something more productive than just make tea.

Raven considered for a moment. "All right. You can read and tell me if you find anything about taking prisoners in a dark realm."

He didn't ask her to elaborate, and stepped into her room.

Book were strewn about. He gave up on making another "you're room is so messy" type remark. The joke was stale.

Raven walked over to her bed ad arranged herself in the lotus position.

Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos.

She closed her eyes and gently floated up. Beast Boy watched as her troubled expression slipped into one of serenity. He picked a book up off the floor and dusted off the cover, settling into a comfortable position.

He was halfway through learning about linked dreaming when Raven's eyes snapped open and she fell to her bed with a soft thud.

"Raven!" Beast Boy cried, tossing the book aside and leaping over piles of books to get to her.

"I found her." She whispered breathlessly. "I found her."

"That's great Rae!" Beast Boy replied. "Where?"

Raven's expression became guarded. "I-I can't say."

"What? C'mon, Rae, we're in this together."

She shook her head. "No, we're not. I made a mistake in letting you help. I have to do this on my own."

Beast Boy's expression hardened. "We've already been over this: I'm helping whether you like it or not."

"You are not." She said, standing up regally. "This is a family matter."

"The Titans are your family now." He insisted. "You can trust us. You can trust me."

"Why do you always think you know everything?! You don't. This doesn't concern you!"

"Yes it does!"

"No." She insisted. "It doesn't." Her eyes flashed and she slammed the door in his face.

"Raven..." He whispered, hurt. He turned around to find 3 Titans eavesdropping.

Their intrigued faces melted into guilt. "Beast Boy," Starfire said. "We are most sor-"

"It's fine, Star." Beast Boy said dejectedly as he trudged away. "Just forget about it."

The other 3 Titans exchanged glances as the sound of heavy objects being thrown across the room rang from Raven's room. "You wanna take this one Star?" Cyborg asked, backing away from the room.

"Of course." Starfire replied, and took a deep breath before she knocked on the door.

Whatever Starfire had said (he assumed she was the only one sane enough and nice enough to try to console Raven) must've been compelling, because two hours, 13 minutes, and 41 seconds later, a knock curt enough to come from only Raven sounded at his door.

"Beast Boy?" She asked quietly. "May I come in?"

He didn't reply.

"Beast Boy, if you don't open up, I'm going to break down your door.

Nothing.

A sigh. "I-I'm sorry." Her cheeks burned, and she was glad his door remained shut. As much apologizing as she had done over the past few weeks, it never got easier. "You were right, you guys are my family, but this really is something I don't want you guys getting involved in. I don't want you to get hurt."

His door slid open. "We can take care of ourselves. It's you that you should be worried about. You're so indecisive you question your own judgement 24/7."

Raven ignored the intentional jab. "I didn't come to ask for your opinion, Beast Boy. I came to tell you that you were correct for once. The rest of the Titans deserve to know what's been going on."

He leaned against his doorframe. "When are you going to tell them?"

"Tomorrow at sunset. It's when I'm leaving to find her. Alone."

For once, he didn't argue. He only responded with a twinge of hurt: "why so soon?"

"The sooner the better." Raven replied cryptically, and left him alone at his door.

* * *

It was a hot summer night. Robin slept atop his bed with only a pair of Batman printed boxers on: no sheets.

Starfire snoozed soundly in her bed amidst tangled sheets. She was keeping cool by piling her hair in a bun and sporting short shorts and a tank top.

Cyborg, the most technologically inclined, cranked the AC up as high as it could go, and slept in the cool air peacefully.

Raven, however, was not sleeping. It had nothing to do with the heat, but instead her mission. She slipped silently out of her room, her cape billowing behind her despite the temperature.

She had lied when she told Beast Boy she was leaving tomorrow at sunset. She had lied when she said that she would tell the other Titans. They could never know all her secrets.

Cicadas filled the night air, and the heat engulfed her as she slipped onto the roof. She was about to channel a portal to her homeland, when she saw a figure silhouetted in front of her.

"Lovely night, isn't it, Raven?" The person spoke into the night.

"How'd you know I would be here?"

Beast Boy turned around. "You said 'the sooner the better'. I assumed you really meant it. Plus, good byes are always the hardest."

"Yes, they are." She spoke quietly. Why did he have to come? Why couldn't she go quietly by herself?

"Raven...I won't try to stop you from going to find your mom, nor will I insist I go with you. But just know that I would've helped. We all would have."

She nodded and swallowed thickly. She despised good byes. "Thank you."

He reached out for her hand, and she let him take it, squeezing back slightly. "Beast Boy..." She trailed off, not knowing how to properly convey her feelings.

She ended up not needing to, as he leaned in close, face moving towards hers. His lips moved past hers, however, and stopped right next to her ear. "I'm so glad we made us a thing." He whispered.

"A thing". Yes, "a thing", indeed. That was one way to put it. Bickering constantly, random sweet gestures, painful fights, tender makeups..."a thing" was the only way to describe their relationship.

An object was all it was. Something either too simplistic or too complex to be classified as anything more than a thing.

She wanted to tell him that. Tell him how she felt. But she couldn't bring herself to. Instead, as he leaned back out, they locked eyes. Green against violet. A vivid picturesque display of color in the pale moonlight.

Raven nodded. The gesture was small, curt. But he understood it perfectly. Everything she felt...everything she wanted to say...it was all conveyed in a single nod. She couldn't bring herself to speak, and no other words were spoken.

Raven willed herself not to cry, but allowed one small, hot tear, to drip down her pale cheeks. He brushed it away. They could've stayed like that forever. His hand on her cheek, their hands clasped in the silver night. She leaned into the comfortable, familiar, warmth on his hand. This. This was it. This was what she wanted. This is what she needed.

Raven let go of his hand. Beast Boy looked at her with understanding. She couldn't do this as much as she wanted to. Her mother needed her.

He watched as she walked away, up to the ledge of Titans' Tower. She never looked back as she stepped up the ledge...and then off the building.

Down, down, down. She closed her eyes and breathed in the night air. She imagined she was a bird, free to go wherever she wished; to do whatever she wanted. She spread her purple wings out with majesty. She was a Raven. She was free.

Beast Boy watched her as she fell. Watched as her familiar purple cape billowed around her. He watched her right until she opened up a portal, just before she sank beneath the waves of the great big ocean. He watched her leave. And he let her go.

* * *

The next few weeks were not happy ones for the Titans. Beast Boy had been in an awful mood ever since the night Raven disappeared.

"For the last time, man, where is she?!"

This was the usual breakfast routine. Cyborg angrily demanded Beast Boy tell him where Raven was, and Beast Boy not relenting any information.

"I told you already! I don't know! And even if I did, it wouldn't be my business to tell!"

"Yes it would!" Cyborg countered. "Raven's family, so it is our business!"

"That's what I thought too," Beast Boy said quietly. "But I was wrong."

He dismissed himself from the table, leaving his vegan waffles untouched.

It was on nights like these when he remembered her the most. Sticky, humid nights, with cicadas chirping, and the moon shining. Just like the night she left.

He missed her. A lot. They danced around their feelings for each other for years, and finally, when they both admitted something was there, it got ripped away. The world was cruel.

He sat on the edge of the shoreline, attempting to skip rocks. After his fifth failed attempt, he angrily threw a rock into the water, listening in satisfaction to the heavy PLUNK!

To his left, another rock was skipped beautifully, creating too many ripples to be natural. "Beautiful night, huh?"

He didn't turn towards the stranger, instead remaining facing the ocean. He managed to find a suitable stone, and threw it into the night, watching as it dipped and skipped along the water.

"Not really." He replied flatly.

"Of course, it is. The moon is out, the cicadas are chirping..."

He couldn't seem to place the voice, although it was familiar. The memory of the voice tugged in his mind, but he couldn't place it.

"I would say there's nothing better to do tonight than to sit and skip rocks."

The stranger stepped out of the shadows. Beast Boy immediately recognized the stranger. How could he be so stupid? How could be not of remembered? How could he not have known that the stranger was-

"Terra?"


	2. Goofy Goober's: A Lifetime

**A/N: Welcome to Chapter 2! "Goofy Goober's" is my baby, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Also congrats if you've made it this far, I know the first chapter was rough and all over the place BUT HEY WHEN YOU WRITE THAT MUCH CONSISTENCY CAN ONLY BE HELPED SO MUCH. ~Stuck**

* * *

She was running. And running. And running. Silently slithering through the hundreds of miles of a massive palace. Housed within its stone walls was a presence of great evil.

She reached a break in the passage. Should she go left, right, or stay straight? She bit her lip trying to decide. Finally, she turned left towards the throne room. If Trigon was keeping her mother here, she would most certainly be with him.

She reached the throne room, barely breaking a sweat and drew her hood up. Although it would be impossible for Trigon to miss her presence, (he surely knew she arrived hours ago) it helped her feel concealed.

She quietly skirted the walls surrounding the massive room. It was at least 5 miles long and wide, housing a gigantic throne, gilded with the bones and blood of those who dared challenge the great and powerful king of demons.

Sitting atop the gruesome furnishing was Trigon himself, fiery red and fiercely cruel, donning a crown of warped thorns and what appeared to be the bones of children. Raven tried not to shiver as she deftly slipped behind massive marble pillars.

"Hello Father."

She stepped out from the shadows concealing her fear.

The demonic god slowly turned his massive head towards his daughter and looked at her as of she was a pesky fly or an obnoxious child. She was probably both in his eyes.

"Ahhh, daughter! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" He feigned innocence with a wicked grin.

She glared back in response. "You know exactly why I am here. I have come for my mother."

Lord Trigon laughed, a cold, merciless thing that filled the chamber with dread. "Arella? I already told you: I haven't seen her in years. If I were to guess, I imagine you would find her in Azarath...how would you put it...'safe and sound'."

Raven's hands curled into shaking fists as she tried to contain her anger. "You lied to me!" she spat.

Her father leaned down closer to her. "I did no such thing. I told you I haven't seen her in years. Your naïveté is not my fault." His breath was hot and sour in her face.

"Why did you bring me here? What do you want with me?"

"That's simple." Trigon narrowed his six eyes. "Your powers."

"Wha-?"

But as soon as Raven's eyes widened with terror, they closed as Trigon firmly knocked her to the ground with a giant red fist.

* * *

When Beast Boy woke up to a torturous din, his immediate thought was not that he'd been kidnapped, the Tower was under attack, or World War III had started. It was something much, much worse:

Cyborg was singing in the shower again, and this time Robin decided to harmonize whilst brushing his teeth.

"When there's trouble you know who to caaallllll!"

"HEEN HINGENS!"

"From their Tower they can see it aaaaaallllllllllllllllllll!"

"HEEN *PWT* TITANS!"

"SHUT UPPPP!" Beast Boy screamed, throwing his pillow over his head.

Male cackling seeped under his door as Beast Boy groaned and rolled over.

By the time Beast Boy made his way down to breakfast, it was creeping up on 11am. There goes his plans to sleep in all day...

11am was also apparently "Ke$ha o'clock".

"Would you like some pancakes, Beast Boy?" Starfire asked as "Tik Tok" ended and Robin proceeded to cry out: "HOT AND DANGEROUS!"

Beast Boy wearily eyed the duetting duo and grabbed a box of cereal. "I'm good, thanks."

"What are you up to today?" Star asked her green friend.

"I bet you he's going to visit his giiiiiiiiirrrrrlllfriiiiieeeenndddd again." Cyborg waggled his eyebrows and elbowed Beast Boy.

"She's not my girlfriend." Beast Boy defensively said, spooning Fruit Loops into his mouth.

"Then why do you keep on visiting her at work everyday?" Robin zoomed in on the topic.

"Maybe because you guys condemned her to the worst job ever." He glared at the exuberant team leader and pushed his bowl away from the edge it was precariously close to, thanks to Robin's elbow.

"I think the Weenie Hut for Juniors is a most fun place!" Starfire brightly cut in, plopping a steaming hot plate of pancakes in front of Beast Boy, narrowly missing the open carton of soy milk.

"Nuh-uh Star. SUPER Weenie Hut Juniors!" Cyborg snickered, reaching for the hot cakes, ignoring the fact that he was nearly elbowing Beast Boy in the face.

"Yeah, Super Weenie Hut Juniors!" Robin doubled over in laughter, tears streaming down his face.

Beast Boy's eye twitched at the laughing teenagers interrupting his breakfast. "Shut up!" His fist banged on the table. "It's not funny! Why are you forcing her to work at that stupid place for a month?! Terra's _sorry_ for what she did, and don't say she should prove it, because she already did when she sacrificed herself to save all of us! She stayed away for MONTHS after she got her memory back, waiting for the right time to come back. The fact that you guys are forcing her to work at Super Weenie Hut Juniors before you'll even CONSIDER letting her rejoin the Titans is stupid. Don't deny that you've been keeping tabs on her every since she came back. Her record's been spotless. She's not going to jeopardize the Titans again! Slade is gone, and crime in general has been pretty quiet around Jump City lately. You're just trying to mess with her, and it's not funny. Grow. up!"

And with that, he pushed up from the table and left, leaving three stunned Titans with eyes wide and jaws to the floor.

"You know," Cyborg carefully said, cutting through the silence. "The last time this happened, Raven left."

"Yeah..." Robin remarked quietly.

"He really misses her doesn't he?" Starfire asked.

"More than anyone, Star. More than anyone."

* * *

When Beast Boy arrived at Super Weenie Hut Juniors he had cooled off enough to greet Terra with a smile.

"Hey!" He called, grinning at the blond in her pinstriped monstrosity of a uniform and dorky cap.

"Hey," she grimaced back, collecting sticky ice cream dishes off the counter as an equally sticky child left with his mother.

"You're looking smiley as always," he teased, sitting down on one of the red vinyl seats.

Terra rolled her eyes. "Sorry for not being 'Little Miss Sunshine' while working in this hellhole. The only people that come here are obnoxious children or creepy old men."

"Or loving boyfriends," Beast Boy added, planting a kiss on her cheek.

Terra promptly shoved him away. "Hey! I never agreed to labels OR dating you."

Beast Boy laughed good-naturedly, green eyes twinkling. "I'm just teasing."

For the first time that day, Terra smiled. "Yeah, well no kissing while I'm at work. I don't want to get in trouble with my boss. That'd be two weeks spent here wasted."

Beast Boy watched her blue eyes turn stormy. "Hey," he said, suddenly serious. "I yelled at the Titans for you. Complained about how unfair it was to force you to work here."

"It's not that bad," Terra sighed. "The owner is just a guy who loves his grandkids too much. Said grandkids grew up by the time the grandpa got the rights though, but the grandson is really hot now."

Beast Boy eyed her suspiciously at how she said "really hot".

"You didn't sleep with him did you?"

Terra glared at him out of the corner of her eyes, distrusting the ice cream sundae she was currently making. "So what if I did? I'm a big girl. And like I said: he's hot."

"I still don't like it..."

Terra rolled her eyes at Beast Boy's pouty attitude. "By sleeping with him I got my job at the counter, which beats scrubbing vomit out of the toilets with a tooth brush any day. Plus," she placed the completed sundae in front of him, leaning over the counter, "that means more free ice cream for you."

Beast Boy met her gaze and kissed her. "Thanks."

Terra gave a half-smile. "When I get off work do you wa-"

"Hey Terra! Gimme a sundae now!"

Terra straightened, scowling at the screaming child. "Shut up, Billy! Wait a second!"

"Umm, should you be talking to your customers that way?" Beast Boy asked, eyebrows knitting together slightly.

"Oh, Billy? He's a regular, you've seen him before. Comes by while his mom is at nursing school. I give him all his ice cream on the house anyway."

"HEY-HEY TERRA! You're not being paid to kiss your boyfriend all day! GIMME MY ICE CREAM!"

Terra rolled her eyes and set to work on a new sundae at lightning speed. "I'll be back in a sec, okay?"

The superhero nodded as Terra walked over and set the ice cream down in front of Billy. "And I hid two cherries in there, just the way you like it." Terra smiled slightly at the annoying child.

Beast Boy watched her curiously. Despite her sarcastic demeanor, Terra seemed to care at least a little about Billy. If she changed enough to handle an annoying kid, surely she changed for the better of the Titans too.

"Sorry about that," Terra said, wiping her hands on a towel, snapping the green teen out if his daze.

"Wha? It's okay. Hey, remember when you said your only customers were obnoxious kids or creepy old guys?"

"Yeah, why?" The blond answered suspiciously, filling a glass with water from the sink in front of her.

"Is this where you met Slade then?"

It took Terra a moment to compose herself enough to not spit-take all over the straight-faced boy in front of her. "N-n-no," she struggled to say without laughing. Terra's failed attempts at holding in laughter brought Beast Boy out of his charade. Soon they were both laughing their heads off, trying to imagine the deadly assassin eating ice cream at Super Weenie Hut Juniors. They stopped only when Billy shouted for a glass of water.

Terra returned from the errand wiping tears from her eyes. "So was there a point to that question, or were you trying to make me laugh?"

"Both. I wanted to know if Slade was the type of guy to go to Super Weenie Hut Juniors." He replied with a sly grin.

"Goofy Goober's actually."

"What?"

Terra sighed. "After he first approached me, he took me to Goofy Goober's. I told you I loved the carnival, and that place was kinda similar."

"You were fifteen at the time." Beast Boy pointed out.

"I was homeless and it was fun," Terra retorted.

"Do you wanna go back?" Beast Boy asked.

"What?"

"After work, do you want me to take you to Goofy Goober's?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Sure," she replied with a small smile. "I'd love to."

For the rest of the day, Beast Boy stayed and talked with Terra. He took her out to get sandwiches on her lunch break, and even played a few rounds of ski ball with Billy (Billy, of course, procured the quarters for the game by bugging Terra until she stole some from the register).

At the end of her shift, around three pm, Terra's replacement came in.

"Oh hey, Seymour. Billy's here again today. From the looks of it, he'll be here until close."

All three teenagers looked over at the eight year old boy who was currently drawing a picture of Batman with crayons.

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on him." Seymour replied, placing his hat on his head, and walking over to Billy.

"Thanks!" Terra called over her shoulder as she grabbed her purse and hopped over the counter. "Ready?" She asked.

They were almost to the door when Billy's voice cut through the air.

"TERRA! HEY TERRA!"

Terra turned around and almost got tackled by Billy.

"Thanks." The little boy said.

Terra's expression softened as she returned the hug. "No problem, kiddo."

"I made this for you." Billy said, breaking free of the hug and handing Terra a picture of a girl with yellow hair holding hands with an all green boy. A considerably smaller boy was between them.

"Is this you?" Terra asked. Billy nodded shyly in response.

"I love it. It's going up on my wall."

Billy beamed. He was obviously seeking the older female's approval.

"I think you're real cool too, Mister."

Beast Boy smiled and ruffled the kid's hair. "Thanks Billy. You're pretty cool yourself."

The two teenagers bid Billy farewell and gave one last wave to Seymour before heading out into the summer air.

* * *

"I feel gross," Terra announced, the August humidity clinging to her like a blanket, plastering her blonde hair to her neck.

Beast Boy watched in fascination as she quickly scooped up her hair and twisted it into a hasty bun on her head. Girls were so fckin cool , how'd they do that shit.

"You don't look gross" offered bb as Terra lightly touched the back of her hair to make sure it was secure.

She laughed. "Thanks."

"Shit" said bb. "Lets just go to goofy goobers rn. It'll be fun n spontaneous. Just like our first date"

Terra frowned. "I'm in pinstripes."

"You're no fun."

"I just spent the last five hours serving ice cream to bratty kids. I'm the definition of fun."

You could practically feel the sarcasm oozing off of her words. Beast Boy's demeanor darkened with the overheard passing of a cloud.

"Hey. I really am sorry they're such jerks. They shouldn't be putting you through this."

"Earning minimum wage for a month surrounded by little monsters seems like too easy of a trade for jeopardizing your entire team." There was an edge to her tone.

"But we're fine now. You didn't kill us. You saved us in the end."

"Yeah, but..." The blond massaged her temples in frustration. "Beast Boy what you're not getting is that I nearly did. I could have. I tried to kill you!"

"But you didn't!"

"I was a _spy!_ The whole time! My sole mission was to take down the Teen Titans at all costs. I was never your ally. I was never your friend. I was never your fucking girlfriend! It was all an act! The only reason you're even alive right now is because I'm too good of a traitor..." she ended bitterly.

They walked in silence. Rubber soles scuffed on the uneven pavement. Fists furled and unclenched. Thunder roller in the distance.

"I don't believe that," Beast Boy said quietly. "You can't make up what we had. It was real."

Terra stopped in her tracks. "Why can't you grow the fuck up?! You're still the same whiny little boy I met all those years ago. I'm not this broken doll that needs your fixing! Stop making me into your perfect little fairytale! Yeah maybe I did like you. But stop sugar coating everything. What we had was messy. Built on lies. I-I don't know if I want that again..."

"Then why did you come back?! To work at Super Weenie Hut Juniors?! Just to mess with me again?! That's a little cold, even for you Terra."

She replied with a dead slap, fixing him with an icy stare. He met her gaze in defiance, edging closer and closer as she searched for an answer. He got lost in her big blue eyes. Dove right in to see her break.

"Hey, hey." Finally taller than her, he wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her tears. "It's okay. We'll figure it out. We can always be our own crime fighting duo. Or go off the grid. Whatever."

She nodded into his tear streaked shirt. "I—"

"WHEN THERE'S TROUBLE YOU KNOW WHO TO CALL...HEEN HIGHENS!"

"Oh shit." Beast Boy fumbled for his communicator around his belt. "Sorry, I gotta take this."

Terra nodded and wiped away her tears, taking a few steps away as he answered the call.

"What? Do you guys _really_ need me for this? Okay I understand but—" Beast Boy inhaled sharply, obviously displeased with the response he was getting. "Fine, I'll be there as soon as I can. I said as soon as I can!"

"Gotta go?" Terra tentatively stepped up behind him.

"Yeah...some new kid is trying to make it in the word of villainy. Whole gangs gotta show up to 'exert our dominance' or something like that."

Eyes were rolled. "Well have fun saving the world from a gas station robbery."

He grimaced, "yeah. Oh shoot, Goofy Goobers. Can we make it a date tonight instead? I'm really sorry."

"Stop apologizing. Pick me up at eight?"

He squeezed her hand and planted a quick kiss on her forehead. She didn't protest for once.

"You betcha."

And with that he shifted into a hawk and took off into the sky.

* * *

At 8:17 (they were both notorious for being late) Terra was jumping down the last of the concrete steps to her building to where bb was standing (she left him outside rude ass b).

"Wow...you look amazing."

Terra blushed. "It's just a black tank top and makeup, Beast Boy."

"Still..." His eyes were as big as boulders.

The blond laughed at him. "Well if we're hopping aboard the complimenting train, I like your _regular_ clothes."

Beast Boy narrowed his eyes and jabbed her ribs in response to the jab. "I'll have you know I've been wearing jeans for months."

Terra stuck out a pink tongue and started strolling away. "Whatever you sayyy..."

"Alright already lets goooo. I wanna see goofy goobers" said bb, chasing after her down the cracked sidewalk.

"Slow ya roll," said terra "gg doesn't even close until like 4 am, and the good stuff doesn't start until nine."

It wasn't asked how she knew what the night life was at a kiddy establishment. Nor was it questioned how his kinda-sorta-girlfriend-if-she-was-into-commitment knew the current hours. What was asked was thrown out carelessly, easily. It wasn't supposed to hint at what was coming. It wasn't meant to become a moment they would both look back on and wish they could change. "Are you ready?" should have just been the start of a foot race, and nothing more.

"Oh. My. God." Terra's eyes lit up like the twinkling lights of the arcade. Beast Boy laughed at her spontaneous transformation to childhood wonderment, joining in to marvel the sights, sounds, and (occasionally suspicious) smells.

Goofy Goober's was not the best entertainment to take your child to (unless you didn't like your kids very much). Filled with seedy looking games and seedier looking characters in the dark corners, it was every unloved teenager's nostalgic day dream of what childhood should have been like. Terra fell in love. Between the copious amounts of ice cream sundaes (hers were better), utter decimation of the arcade games (surely there wasn't a "harder" mode on them?), and fighting off sleazy sleazeballs scouting the ski ball (she missed socking people square in the face), this surely must have been heaven, right?

The "good stuff" Terra mentioned were the shows with Goofy Goober himself. Now noticeably drunk, the dancing (staggering?) peanut sent Terra straight into a laughing fit. Tears streamed down her face as she pounded on the bar countertop, no doubt enjoying the show more than anyone.

The real kicker of the night came around midnight when they tried to order another round of sundaes.

"What can I get for y—oh shit..."

"R-Red X?" Terra choked on her cola.

"Dude, what are you even doing here? And Terra, how do you know him?"

Red X appeared to droop in his Official Goofy Goober™ uniform, making for a truly depressed peanut. "Not all of us made it as heroes or villains. Some of us need to pay the bills you know."

"But why the suit, man?"

"To conceal my identity from girls I've dated. None of them really know me as Red X. To be honest I never thought I'd be in a situation where I'd get recognized regardless of what I was disguised in..."

"Wait so..." Beast Boy looked back and forth between Terra and Red X (who was probably a very red guy underneath the peanut suit). "You guys dated?!"

The ex-couple in question uncomfortably confirmed, much to the super hero's astonishment. The gears were still turning in his mind. It went until after Red X returned with their sundae that Beast Boy exclaimed: "You know who he is!"

"Pl-please don't say anything Terra."

Terra got into another fit of giggles at the situation. In between laughs she managed to confirm that yes, she knew Red X's identity but no, she would not tell Beast Boy what it was. Red X seemed relieved, but Terra's slight smirk made it clear she was only withholding the information until a much more juicy situation arose. Beast Boy made sure to tip extra.

They finally decided to call it a night around one, agreeing that unlike in the SpongeBob movie, ice cream was not like alcohol and there was only so much room for it.

It was there at her apartment building's door that Terra sleepily bid Beast Boy good night, clutching the plastic bag of prizes she had won in one hand, and a green dinosaur he won for her from the claw machine in the other. It was there on those concrete steps that they exchanged sticky kisses, bathed in the light from a buzzing street light. It was there on that street corner that they waved goodbye under the watchful eye of the moon, arcade lights still flashing behind closed eyelids.


End file.
